Peace Talks Between Taliban And The U.S. Break Down Over Leaks

The Taliban only agreed to engage in preliminary peace talks with the U.S. because both sides swore themselves to secrecy. But since details of the negotiations and the identity of the Taliban representative were leaked to the international media, the U.S. has been unable to find the Taliban negotiator, and the talks have not taken place since April.

"'The talks were a big deal, the real thing," a source told the Daily Telegraph. "I hope people will learn the lesson on the importance of confidentiality in the early stages. People in the US are horrified about what has happened."

After the leaks, the Taliban began to claim the talks were merely ordinary negotiations over prisoner releases.